HNW Investors Find It Harder to Unplug

Ever think about leaving the smartphone, tablet and laptop at home while on vacation? Apparently, the richer a person is, the harder that is to do.

What does this mean for advisors? For one, they may have to be on call much more for their wealthier clients. A third of investors with over $5 million in assets say they always check their work email and voicemails when on vacation, according to a recent Millionaire’s Corner Investor Pulse. About 15 percent say they sometimes check their messages, while only 3 percent say they never check them.

That’s compared to the just 17 percent of those with less than $100,000 net worth who always check their messages. Overall, those with less than $1 million in assets are far less likely to be constantly checking their emails and messages—25 percent of those with a net worth of $100,000 or less say they never check their email while out of the office.

But why are the wealthiest individuals checking in? Over half of those with $5 million or more in assets say “I check it because it keeps me up-to-date with what is going on at work.” Only 8 percent say it's because their job requires it.

And that work ethic extends to others, the survey found. While over half of these high-net-worth investors believe it’s up to the employee to decide if they want to check emails and messages at home, a third felt it should be considered part of the job requirements for salaried positions.